Thursday Lightning Round

We're Back In The Office ...... and feeling sleep-deprived and a little cranky. So don't say we didn't warn you in advance. Without further ado, here are some of the odds and ends left over from a seriously busy week. Hope you enjoy the redesign..

30-Second U.S. Senate Update (tm):We hope someone taped this.Noted talking skull and political strategist James Carville appeared at a Philly Phund-Raiser for Hermetic Bob on Wednesday. In advance of the event, the folks at the National Republican Senatorial CampaignCommittee sent out a release reminding all and sundry that Carville (in addition to being the political equivalent of Skeletor from the Masters of the Universe) is also a generally bad human being who engages in negative campaigning. Carville, by the way, worked for Casey Pere back in 1986.But wait ... isn't it negative campaigning when you send out a press release saying that someone is a negative campaigner? We can never keep that straight ...Also on Wednesday, Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlmantold about 150 Westmoreland County Republicans that Hermetic Bob is "a man with high ambition with few ideas."Mehlman then went on to declare that Wednesday is a day that ends in "Y" and that sky, henceforth, shall be blue.We couldn't let this entry pass without noting a story by our colleague in Washington, Jeff Miller, about the political activites of a group critical of Our Rick. Philly attorney Daniel Berger has contributed nealry $57,000 to Democratic candidates and causes this election cycle, including $4,200 to Hermetic Bob's election campaign. Berger is a board member of a watchdog group critical of Santorum.

This Is Probably Why ...... U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., probably doesn't get invited to the White House much anymore.On Wednesday, Snarlen told the Associated Press that even though he's presiding over efforts to write the Bushies' (most likely illegal) wiretapping policy into law, he doesn't have to like it."They want to do just as they please for as long as they can get away with it," said Specter, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "I think what is going on now without congressional intervention or judicial intervention is just plain wrong."We hope the senator enjoys his next audit.

Oh, That Lobbying Reform ...Apparently not wanting to be outdone by the executive branch, state House Speaker John M. Perzel, R-Philadelphia, says he'll introduce his long-awaited lobbying reform bill at the beginning of April.Perzel, more alert readers will recall, drafted in an advisory panel of ex-judges last month to help him figure out how to regulate lawyers who are also registered lobbyists.It was through this release that we also finally learned the name of that advisory committee.What is it?Wait for it ..The Rules of Conduct for Lawyers Who Lobby Legislative Advisory Committee.We swear we're not making that up.Like Herding Cats Dept.Pennsylvania Democrats meet in Harrisburg this weekend to endorse candidates for governor and lieutenant governor. And even though the first clink of the cocktail glass is still more than 24 hours away, some folks are already upset.The reason?Someone at Democratic State Committee saw fit to send out an invitiation to a reception for Lt. Gov Catherine Baker Knoll in the same envelope as the 10-day warning of the meeting. At least two Dems say that's an implicit endorsement for Knoll, even though the party hasn't endorsed a second banana candidate yet.Predictably, one of those wailing and gnashing their teeth is seriously hyperactive light-guv candidate Valerie McDonald Roberts of Allegheny County."We must be wary to avoid any and all patterns that tarnish the democratic process of endorsement," McDonald Roberts said, apparently forgetting that the endorsement process itself is laughably undemocratic. "It is up to the elected state committee members to address this."Actually, if they really wanted to address it, both parties could scrap endorsements altogether, stop treating voters like sheep, and simply hold open primaries.But that would probably be undemocratic ...Did You Know ...... that Democratic state Reps. Mike Gerber and Josh Shapiro of Montgomery County are two of Pennsylvania's rising political stars, according to the ... er ... Montgomery County Democratic Committee?Actually, that evaulation comes from the esteemed folks at the National Journal, who actually specialize in making those sorts of rankings and are generally trustworthy and genial sorts.But the news reached us in a breathless press release from the Montgomery County Dems. And we just bet the Montco Dems tacked the letter from the NatJournal up on the party's 'fridge alongside Josh's fingerpaints and Mike's pasta sculpture.They're growing up so fast ...There's A Joke In Here Somewhere Dept.The state Department of Agriculture will hold training sessions in May for manure haulers and brokers.The sessions are for farmers ... not candidates ...EdWatch (tm):Gov. Ed's out in the southeast today. At 2 p.m., he'll barge into another senior citizen's living room and demand that the Legislature enact property tax reform. That's in scenic Yeadon, Pa.Tonight, he's back in Philly to with ex-POTUS Bill Clinton for a ceremony at the National Constitution Center.Wow, the state police security detail and the Secret Service sure will be busy ... what with guarding the buffet table and the interns ...

In The Blogosphere:Keystone Politics on the intra-party squabbling among state Dems; We're going to miss Chris Lilik when he mysteriously disappears sometime in late April; Young Philly Politics doesn't mince words when it comes to Andy Warren's congressional campaign; We're big fans of cats; A Smoke-Filled Room sweeps up the detritus of Wednesday's political goings-on; Above Average Jane says she may have been wrong about U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, R-8th District; A unique audio file from Bill Bostic; A writer for PennPatriot visits Democratic Underground and doesn't like what he sees there; Tony Phyrillas isn't real psyched about the group either; Two Political Junkies read the papers; The Weekly Standard on a revival in European monasticism; Red State has some further dispiriting news about the state of affairs in North Korea (pity they don't have any oil there); Wonkette on speculation about some shake-ups in the West Wing's senior staff (no, not Martin Sheen); DCist has all the local news that District residents need; Political Animal finds further evidence that the end times are upon us; David Frum on both kinds of immigration; Josh Marshall on Ralph Reed's political fortunes; The Swamp pauses from politics to mull the recent behavior of our favorite ex-New York Yankee Alfonso Soriano, and Arianna Huffington enlists a new 'blogger.On The Capitol Ideas iPod This Morning:As befits our testy and generally p***ed-off mood this morning, we're listening to U2's overtly political and not a little angry 1983 LP War. Maybe we just need more coffee ...Thursday's Gratuitous Soccer Link:The Guardian on the news that the farcically-behind-schedule Wembley Stadium may not be finished until 2007. Earlier this week, part of the stadium's roof collapsed. Now, they've found problems in the sewer lines.